Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
INTEGRATION OF SOLVENT DEASPHALTING WITH RESIN
HYDROPROCESSING
.
HELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to the solvent deasphalting of heavy oils coupled
with resin
hydroprocessing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Conventionally, a solvent deasphalting (SDA) process is employed by an
oil refinery
for the purpose of extracting valuable components from a residual oil
feedstock, which is a
heavy hydrocarbon that is produced as a by-product of refining crude oil. The
extracted
components are fed back to the refinery wherein they are converted into
valuable lighter
fractions such as gasoline. Suitable residual oil feedstocks which may be used
in a SDA
process include, for example, atmospheric tower bottoms, vacuum tower bottoms,
crude oil,
topped crude oils, coal oil extract, shale oils, and oils recovered from tar
sands.
[0004] In a typical SDA process, a light hydrocarbon solvent is added to the
residual oil feed
from a refinery and is processed in what can be termed as an asphaltene
separator. Common
solvents used comprise light paraffinic solvents. Examples of light paraffinic
solvents
include, but are not limited to, propane, butane, isobutane, pentane,
isopentane, neopentane,
hexane, isohexane, heptane, and similar known solvents used in deasphalting,
and mixtures
thereof. Under elevated temperature and pressures, the mixture in the
asphaltene separator
separates into a plurality of liquid streams, typically, a substantially
asphaltene-free stream of
deasphalted oil (DAO), resins and solvent, and a mixture of asphaltene and
solvent within
which some DA0 may be dissolved.
[0005] Once the asphaltenes have been removed, the substantially asphaltene-
free stream of
DAO, resins and solvent is normally subjected to a solvent recovery system.
The solvent
recovery system of an SDA unit extracts a fraction of the solvent from the
solvent rich DA0
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by boiling off the solvent, commonly using steam or hot oil from fired
heaters. The vaporized
solvent is then condensed and recycled back for use in the SDA unit.
[0006] Often it becomes beneficial to separate a resin product from the
DAO/resin product
stream. This is normally done before the solvent is removed from the DAO.
"Resins" as used
herein, means resins that have been separated and obtained from a SDA unit.
Resins are
denser or heavier than deasphalted oil, but lighter than the aforementioned
asphaltenes. The
resin product usually comprises more aromatic hydrocarbons with highly
aliphatic substituted
side chains, and can also comprise metals, such as nickel and vanadium.
Generally, the resins
comprise the material from which asphaltenes and DA0 have been removed.
[0007] Crude oils contain heteroatomic, polyaromatic molecules that include
compounds
such as sulfur, nitrogen, nickel, vanadium and others in quantities that can
adversely affect
the refinery processing of crude oil fractions. Light crude oils or
condensates have sulfur
concentrations as low as 0.01 percent by weight (W %) In contrast, heavy crude
oils and
heavy petroleum fractions have sulfur concentrations as high as 5-6 W %.
Similarly, the
nitrogen content of crude oils can be in the range of 0.001-1.0W %. These
impurities must be
removed during refining to meet established environmental regulations for the
final products
(e.g., gasoline, diesel, fuel oil), or for the intermediate refining streams
that are to be
processed for further upgrading, such as isomerization or reforming.
Furthermore,
contaminants such as nitrogen, sulfur and heavy metals are known to deactivate
or poison
catalysts, and thus must be removed.
[0008] Asphaltenes, which are solid in nature and comprise polynuclear
aromatics present in
the solution of smaller aromatics and resin molecules, are also present in the
crude oils and
heavy fractions in varying quantities. Asphaltenes do not exist in all of the
condensates or in
light crude oils; however, they are present in relatively large quantities in
heavy crude oils
and petroleum fractions. Asphaltenes are insoluble components or fractions and
their
concentrations are defined as the amount of asphaltenes precipitated by
addition of an n-
paraffin solvent to the feedstock.
[0009] In a typical refinery, crude oil is first fractionated in the
atmospheric distillation
column to separate sour gas including methane, ethane, propanes, butanes and
hydrogen
sulfide, naphtha (boiling point range: 36-180C), kerosene (boiling point
range: 180-240 C),
gas oil (boiling point range: 240-370 C) and atmospheric residue, which are
the hydrocarbon
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fractions boiling above 370 C. The atmospheric residue from the atmospheric
distillation
column is either used as fuel oil or sent to a vacuum distillation unit,
depending upon the
configuration of the refinery. Principal products from the vacuum distillation
are vacuum gas
oil, comprising hydrocarbons boiling in the range 370-520 C, and vacuum
residue,
comprising hydrocarbons boiling above 520 C.
[00010] Naphtha, kerosene and gas oil streams derived from crude oils or
other natural
sources, such as shale oils, bitumens and tar sands, are treated to remove the
contaminants,
such as sulfur, that exceed the specification set for the end product(s).
Hydrotreating is the
most common refining technology used to remove these contaminants. Vacuum gas
oil is
processed in a hydrocracking unit to produce gasoline and diesel, or in a
fluid catalytic
cracking (FCC) unit to produce mainly gasoline, light cycle oil (LCO) and
heavy cycle oil
(HCO) as by-products, the former being used as a blending component in either
the diesel
pool or in fuel oil, the latter being sent directly to the fuel oil pool.
[00011] There are several processing options for the vacuum residue
fraction,
.. including hydroprocessing (including both residue hydrotreating and residue
hydrocracking
which includes both ebullated bed and slurry phase type reactors), coking,
visbreaking,
gasification and solvent deasphalting. Solvent deasphalting (SDA) is a well
proven
technology for separation of residues by their molecular weight and is
practiced
commercially worldwide. The separation in the SDA process can be into two or
sometimes
three components, i.e., a two component SDA process or a three component SDA
process. In
the SDA process, the asphaltenes rich fraction (pitch) comprising about 6-8 W
% of hydrogen
is separated from the vacuum residue by contact with a paraffinic solvent
(carbon number
ranging from 3-8) at elevated temperatures and pressures. The recovered
deasphalted oil
fraction (DAM comprising about 9-11 W % hydrogen, is characterized as a heavy
hydrocarbon fraction that is free of asphaltene molecules and can be sent to
other conversion
units such as a hydroprocessing unit or a fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCC)
for further
processing.
[00012] The yield of DA() is usually set by the processing feed stock
property
limitations, such as organometallic metals and Conradson Carbon residue (CCR)
of the
downstream processes. These limitations are usually below the maximum
recoverable DAO
within the SDA process (Table 1 and FIG. 1). Table 1 illustrates typical
yields obtained in a
SDA process. If the DA0 yield can be increased, then the overall valuable
transportation
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fuel yields, based on residue feed, can be increased, and the profitability of
SDA enhanced.
A parallel benefit would occur with the combination of SDA followed by delayed
coking.
Maximizing DA0 yield maximizes the catalytic conversion of residue relative to
thermal
conversion, which occurs in delayed coking.
Table 1
DA()
FEED (tic limited) PITCH
VOL-% 100.00 53.21 46.79
WEIGHT-% 100.00 50.00 50.00
API 5.37 14.2 -3.4
Sp.Gr. 1.0338 0.9715 1.1047
S, wt-% 4.27 3.03 5.51
N, wppm 0.3 0 0
Con Carbon, wt-% 23 7.7 38.3
C7 insols, wt-% 6.86 0.05 13.7
UOP K 11.27 11.54 11.01
Ni , ppm 24 2.0 46.0
V , ppm 94 5.2 182.8
[00013] Even without DA0 downstream processing limitations, the cost of
hydroprocessing DA0 can be very high. In examining the DA0 properties and its
composition (Table 2), it can be seen that the back end of DAO, typically
referred to as the
Resin fraction, sets the severity and ultimately cost of the hydroprocessing
unit. It would
therefore be desirable to treat the Resin fraction separately in a cost-
effective manner.
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Table 2
DA0
FEED (HC limited) RESIN PITCH
VOL-% 100.00 53.21 14.73 32.06
WEIGHT-% 100.00 50.00 15.00 35.00
API 5.37 14.2 2.9 -6.1
Sp.Gr. 1.0338 0.9715 1.0526 1.1287
S, wt-% 4.27 3.03 5.09 5.69
N, wppm 0.3 0 0 1
Con Carbon, wt-% 23 7.7 23.0 44.8
C7 insols, wt-% 6.86 0.02 0.1 19.5
UOP K 11.27 11.54 11.22 10.92
Ni , ppm 24 2.0 14.4 59.6
V , ppm 94 5.2 30.2 248.2
[00014] For applications where the only downstream hydroprocessing route is
hydrocracking, the quality of the DA0 is much more restrictive. Even with
resin
hydroprocessing, the hydroprocessed resin stream may not be suitable as VG0
Hydrocracker
feedstock. Therefore, further selective separation of the hydroprocessed resin
stream would
be beneficial to produce additional VG Hydrocracking feedstock for those
applications
where hydrocracking is the downstream hydroprocessing route.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[00015] An embodiment of the invention is directed to a process for
deasphalting with
a solvent comprising: introducing a hydrocarbon oil feedstock to an extractor;
introducing a
solvent to the feedstock; separating an asphaltene-containing fraction from
the feedstock to
form an asphaltene depleted feedstock; separating a resin-containing fraction
in a resin
recovery section from the asphaltene separated feedstock to form a resin
depleted feedstock;
separating a deasphalted oil-containing fraction from the resin depleted
feedstock; integrating
the resin recovery section with a hydroprocessing process; and hydroprocessing
the resin-
containing fraction in the hydroprocessing process to generate a
hydroprocessed residue
product.
[00016] A further embodiment of the invention is directed to a method
for integrating a
solvent deasphalting process and a resin hydroprocessing process comprising:
adding a
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solvent to a heavy hydrocarbon stream comprising asphaltenes, resin, and oil;
removing the
asphaltenes from the heavy hydrocarbon stream so as to produce a substantially
solvent-free
asphaltene stream and a substantially asphaltene-free solvent solution
comprising the solvent,
the resin, and the oil; heating the solvent solution so as to precipitate the
resin; separating the
resin from the solvent solution, producing a resin product and a mixture
comprising the oil
and the solvent; applying heat to the mixture so as to vaporize a fraction of
the solvent;
removing the vaporized solvent fraction from the mixture leaving a resin-free
deasphalted oil
product; hydroprocessing the resin product so as to produce a residue product;
and subjecting
the residue product to additional separation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows the qualities of deasphalted oil relative to residue type and
yield in
accordanace with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 shows a two product solvent deasphalting flow scheme in accordance with
an
embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 shows a three product solvent deasphalting flow scheme in accordance
with
embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4 shows a flow scheme for resin production in accordance with an
embodiment
of the invention;
FIG. 5 shows a hydroprocessing process flow scheme in accordance with an
embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6 shows a flow scheme for integrated resin production and hydroprocessing
in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 7 shows a flow scheme for integrated resin production and hydroprocessing
with
selective separation in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 8 shows the impact of resin hydroprocessing on coke yield in accordance
with an
embodiment of the invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[00017] An embodiment of the invention includes a process comprising
several steps
that allow an increase in DA0 yield up to the limitation of the downstream
hydroprocessing
or FCC feedstock limitations. FIG.1 is an illustration of DA0 contaminants
versus DA0
yield for different residue types.
[00018] In an embodiment of the invention an increase in DA0 yield is
obtained by a
process comprising the steps of separating the DA0 into two fractions within
the solvent
deasphalting (SDA) process, namely, DA0 and resins; hydroprocessing the resins
in a
dedicated resins hydroprocessing process; integrating the resins recovery
section of the SDA
process with the resins hydroprocessing process, and selectively separating
the
hydroprocessed resin stream.
[00019] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a two-product SDA process, where
the two products
are DA0 and pitch (asphaltenes-rich fraction).
[00020] Another embodiment of the invention shows a three-product SDA
process,
which produces, DAO, pitch and resin. To produce the intermediate resin
product, an
appropriate flow scheme (FIG. 3) is required. The additional equipment
includes a resin
settler located between the extractor and the DAO-solvent separator,
additional heat
exchangers, and a resin stripper to strip entrained solvent out of the resin
product (FIG. 4).
[00021] In an embodiment of the invention, hydroprocessing of residues
is carried out
at elevated hydrogen partial pressures ranging from about 800 to about 2500
psig. In other
embodiments of the invention, hydroprocessing is carried out at temperatures
ranging from
about 650 to about 930 F. In further embodiments of the invention, the
hydroprocessing
steps are performed using a catalyst made of one or more metals. Examples of
metal catalysts
used in embodiments of the invention include catalysts comprising iron,
nickel, molybdenum,
and cobalt. Metal catalysts used in embodiments of the invention promote both
contaminant
removal and cracking of the residues to smaller molecules contained within the
hydroprocessing reactor. "lbe process conditions used in embodiments of the
invention
including temperature, pressure and catalyst vary depending upon the nature of
the feedstock.
[000221 The hydroprocessing reactor can either be a downflow fixed-bed
reactor that
contains catalyst in the reactor where the main objective is hydrotreating; an
upflow ebullatcd
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bed reactor where the catalyst is suspended and it may be added and withdrawn
while the
reactor is in operation where the objective is some conversion and
hydrotreating; or an
upflow slurry phase reactor where the catalyst is added to the feed and leaves
with the
product out of the top of the reactor where the objective is primarily
conversion.
[00023] As used herein, the term "hydroprocessing" refers to any of several
chemical
engineering processes including hydrogenation, hydrocracking and
hydrotreating. Each of the
aforementioned hydroprocessing reactions can be carried out using the
hydroprocessing
reactors described above.
[00024] Additional equipment such as pumps, heat exchangers, reactor
feed heater,
separation, and fractionation equipment may be required to support the
hydroprocessing
process. FIG. 5 highlights the key steps of a hydroprocessing process in
accordance with an
embodiment of the invention. Depending on the application, the flow scheme can
be changed;
however, the key steps of feed heating, reaction, and separation, and hydrogen
rich gas
addition and recycle are required.
[00025] In an embodiment of the invention, the hydroprocessing process is
located
downstream of the SDA process. The hydroprocessing process hydrotreats the
resin fraction.
The product yield benefits are fully realized with this approach.
[00026] In another embodiment of the invention the hydroprocessing
process is
integrated with the resin section of the SDA Process (FIG. 6). This is
accomplished by one or
more of the following steps:
= Elimination of the resin stripper and replacement with a simpler, lower
cost
flash drum
= Heat integration between the reactor effluent and the feed to the resin
extractor,
and/or resin flash drum; and
= For low severity (low pressure) hydroprocessing applications the
hydroprocessing reactor charge pump may also be eliminated.
[00027] In another embodiment of the invention the hydroprocessed resins
are
selectively separated in an extractor (HG. 7). In this selective separation
process, the
hydroprocessed resin is separated into a hydrotreated resin overhead stream
and a
hydrotreated resin bottoms stream. In an embodiment of the invention, the
overhead stream
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is sent to the DA0 recovery section of the SDA section. The hydroprocessed
resin bottoms
stream is sent to the pitch recovery section of the SDA section
[00028] In an
embodiment of the invention, relative to delayed coking of vacuum
residue, the addition of a SDA process in front of a delayed coking process
reduces the coke
made by 19 W %, where the DA0 yield limitation is about 50 W % for a
downstream VG0
Hydrocracking Process. With the proposed resin draw, the coke made is reduced
a further 15
W % for about a total 35 W % coke reduction compared to processing 100% vacuum
residue
(FIG. 8).
[00029] The above
set of conditions is an example for a specific feedstock and refinery
application. Specific base yields and with the proposed resin draw could have
different yields.
[00030] In a further embodiment
of the invention, production of more desirable
products, such as transportation fuels, occurs when the resin stream is
processed in a
downstream catalytic conversion process. As shown in Table 3, liquid yields
will typically be
increased by about 5-8 W %, light hydrocarbons reduced by about 2-3 W %, and
net coke
made reduced by about 4 W %. It should be noted that the yields of product
obtained using
processes of the invention are dependent upon the nature of the feedstock
material and
process conditions.
Table 3
DAO RESIN
FEED (HC limited) RESIN (after Hdt) PITCH
VOL-% 100.00 53.21 14.73 14.16 32.06
WEIGHT-% 100.00 50.00 15.00 13.73 35.00
API 5.37 14.2 2.9 9.7 -6.1
Sp.Gr. 1.0338 0.9715 1.0526 1.0022 1.1287
S, wt-% 4.27 3.03 5.09 0.42 5.69
N, wppm 3000 1250 3000 1700 5500
Con Carbon, wt-% 23 7.7 23.0 8.5 44.8
C7 insols, wt-% 6.86 0.02 0.1 0.05 19.5
Ni , ppm 24 2.0 14.4 0.5 59.6
V , ppm 94 5.2 30.2 1.0 248.2
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[00031] In another embodiment of the invention, selective
hydroprocessing of the resin
stream reduces the overall hydroprocessing costs by avoiding raising the
severity of the VG0
and DAD hydrocracking severity.
[00032] In certain embodiments of the invention, for applications where
the
downstream VG hydrocracking process has feedstock quality limitations, the
hydroprocessed resins is separated in an extractor into hydroprocessed resin
DAC) and
hydroprocessed resin pitch streams. The selected lift in this extractor is set
by the VG
hydrocracker feed quality limitations. Typically this DAD yield is over 50 W %
of the
hydroprocessed resin stream. Table 4 compares typical SDA yields versus the
combined
SDA/resin hydrotreater with selective separation yields for typical sour crude
vacuum. The
hydrocracking process feedstock is increased by another 12 W % of vacuum
residue and the
potential coke yield when the SDA Pitch is coked is decreased by another 13 W
%.
Table 4
Conventional SDA FW SDA-RT
DAO
FEED (Hw limited) PITCH DAO+ PITCH
VOL-% 100.00 53.2 46.8 65.4 34.9
WT-% 100.00 50.0 50.0 61.0 38.4
API 5.4 14.2 -3.4 15.2 -7.2
S, wt-% 4.3 3.0 5.5 2.6 5.2
N, wppm 3000 1250 4750 1200 5300
CCR, wt-% 23.0 7.7 38.3 7.0 42.8
C7 Ins., wt-% 6.9 0.02 13.7 0.01 17.8
Ni+V , wppm 118 7.2 229 6.0 280
Potential Coke Base -19% -32%
[000331 In an embodiment of the invention, heat integration and
elimination of
redundant equipment between the SDA and the Resin llydrotreater reduces the
combined
capital and operating costs of both processes.
[00034] The process of the invention has been described and explained with
reference
to the schematic process drawings. Additional variations and modifications may
be apparent
to those of ordinary skill in the art based on the above description and the
scope of the
invention is to be determined by the claims that follow.
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